Their apparent nervousness turns to disappointment, then seeming resentment, as they find the person they stopped had no reason to whatsoever to be stopped (other than the obvious fact that they didn't like the way he looked). Unable to find anything after a good half-hour of database-fu, they realise they must either charge you with something or allow you to continue your homeward journey.

That is a description of my walks home about 50% of the nights I work. More than one city. It's been this way for as long as I've worked the stupid fucking jobs I've had.

If these officers could not articulate their suspicions or reason for contact, they should not have stopped you, period! I would never attempt to defend the actions of officers who violate The Constitution. Courts have held that the standard for police is reasonableness. I don't have to be right, I only have to be reasonable. If I am roving around at 04:00, have suspicions about your behavior and try to stop you, I am going to tell you why I stopped you and thank you for your time when our encounter is over.

Originally Posted by Vieux Normand

Only the observation that people might view police with a less jaundiced eye if the latter would just go after criminals and leave ordinary people the **** alone. If you can't fight actual crime and must rely on annoying regular folk to justify the tax dollars spent on training and equipping you, get another fucking job. This is not only a matter concocted by the media. It's a result of personal experience, and not just mine: it's one shared by all too many ordinary non-criminals.

Some cops don't understand the law (what THEY can and cannot do). I won't try to explain this or to justify it. Agencies and supervisors have to train this mentality out of their people or get rid of them.

Originally Posted by Middlefinger

One of my biggest problems with cops is the lack of accountability. They police themselves and have a habit of excusing behaviors from fellow officers that they would arrest a civilian for doing.

Where I come from, there is a great deal of accountability. In car video clears officers of wrongdoing in about 90% of complaints for use of force and other violations of citizen rights.

I will defend a fellow officer to the end, if he is righteous. I don't know the exact scenario on the video you posted, but if it is as it appears, those guys are wrong and should be punished. Wrong is wrong whether or not it is a cop or a plumber.

If these officers could not articulate their suspicions or reason for contact, they should not have stopped you, period!

As you are well aware, they can come up with any "reason". The one I hear most often is the classic "we're on the lookout for someone who matches your description".

The most surreal occurrence I've had was after working a couple of clubs on Canada's west coast. After a good forty-minute 4 AM database-fu search regarding someone "who looked like me"--and having finally conceded that I wasn't the "person who resembles me" they were supposedly looking for--one of the cops actually handed me a fucking business card and said "By the way, if you're interested, we're recruiting".

Seriously.

After spending a sizable chunk of time apparently doing their utmost to change a normal person into a confirmed cop-hater, they then tell that same individual--before finally and magnanimously allowing him to continue on his journey homeward--that they're "recruiting".

Priceless.

In any case, you're doubtless correct in that I'm overgeneralizing with regards to an entire profession. It's a sad commentary on humanity: we all have our bad habits.

As you are well aware, they can come up with any "reason". The one I hear most often is the classic "we're on the lookout for someone who matches your description".

I'm not going to fool myself into believing this doesn't happen. If I pulled that kind of **** and caught a complaint, I'd better have documentation (radio-calls, documented citizen report, etc.) to substantiate my claim. We can go fishing to some degree, but out and out fucking with people is a really bad idea.

I had a bad experience with a waitress at Pizza Hut one time; I just didn't visit that place until I found out she had quit and moved away. Dealing with law enforcement isn't like a place where I can take my business elsewhere. I choose to treat people as I would like to be treated. There are jerks in every profession, trade and job classification though.

I had a bad experience with a waitress at Pizza Hut one time; I just didn't visit that place until I found out she had quit and moved away. Dealing with law enforcement isn't like a place where I can take my business elsewhere. I choose to treat people as I would like to be treated. There are jerks in every profession, trade and job classification though.

Once upon a time, the depth of my naïveté was such that I actually believed that, if I had nothing to do with crime, I'd have nothing to do with cops.

I actually thought that I lived in a separate world from that in which cops and criminals played their cat-and-mouse game, and that this game would never involve me as long as I stayed on the right side of the law.

The cops in my home town in Bosnia are some of the most annoying people ever. I don't know exactly whats the deal, they apparently have some kind of quota to fill.

Anyway, they are stopping young people left and right, and asking for ID. You go about your business, and then a cop jumps out of bushes and IDs you. They write your information in their little cop notebook, and off you go.

Most of them are polite about it to the best of their abilities, but I experienced a few cases of obnoxious morons that filled me with facekick rage. My interaction with a certain female cop is the closest I got to committing assault.

The traffic cops are a story in itself. Some are gotten so arrogant, that they won't even hide that they are looking for a bribe. All of my encounters with them ended in the best possible way. For some reason, they left me off the hook multiple times, when I was ridiculously speeding.

Seriously though, it is important for you to know your rights as a citizen wherever you live. One of my most memorable encounters involved being stopped while riding my bike for not having a light on the back (I had one on the front). There were two cops who got out and talked to me, one did all the talking while the other one observed. The cop in question was extremely polite during the first part of our encounter as he ran through the typical questions.. Do you have any weapons or illegal drugs on you? No sir. Do you mind if I check? Yes sir, I do. At this point he tried to say I threw something out as they got behind me. No sir, I did not. His attitude turned sour as he wrote me a warning and told me "he knew what I was up to" and they would "get me eventually" and he would give me a ticket if he saw me riding home even that night. Bottom line.. he had no legal right to search me, I was aware of this, exercised my right as a citizen, and that pissed him off.